July 22, 2017, at the Oakland Gymnasium from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Unity in the Community Central Florida, with the sponsorship of Miracle Toyota, will host a Back To School Bash event for students in the Haines City community! Free haircuts, free backpacks, free food, free immunizations and guest speakers will be provided at this event! Come out to celebrate and get ready for the approaching school year! Please see the attached flyer in the downloads section below for more information.

The Haines City community hosted a Benefit Basketball Tournament June 24th, 2017, to help a dear friend and Haines City employee with unexpected medical expenses. The event was held at the Oakland Neighborhood Center Gymnasium and showcased many of our talented local athletes.

On behalf of the Northeast Revitalization Group, the Haines City Recreation Department, and the Rivers Family want to say thank you to all the teams and members of the local community for coming to support this amazing event. Check below for pictures of the event and see the attached collage below in the Downloads section!

Food Truck Friday Haines City’s first Food Truck Friday was such a hit, we are going to do it again! Our partner organization, Orlando Food Trucks, will bring more of Central Florida’s best food trucks to Haines City!

WOW! Haines City’s 2017 Thunder on the Ridge event was absolutely spectacular! What a special day of remembering the unique freedom we have in America, the Beautiful! With the fun and quality entertainment, unique vendors, tasty foods, awesome fireworks, volunteers, City staff, Polk County Staff, and valuable organizations who provided fun and safe experiences for families, Thunder on the Ridge was an all-around amazing event! Each person, group, and team who took part in this event helped create an opportunity for the community to come together in unity and thankfulness!

Thunder on the Ridge brought together residents of Haines City and visitors from afar to celebrate the USA together! Here’s what people have said about this year’s event:

“I want to say a big thank you to all City of Haines City employees for their hard work and especially to the Parks Dept. for your great deal of work. You guys rock.” – Mark Sornson

“Awesome job City of Haines City - Government, thank you for the amazing show!” – Shannon Smith

“THANK YOU Haines City… another awesome 4th of July event. HATS off to all.” – Nancy Yelland

Check out the pictures below to see some of the action from Thunder on the Ridge!

Thank you to all who joined us to celebrate at Haines City's Thunder on the Ridge!

Parks and Recreation will host the British Soccer Camp July 10th - 14th, 2017. The camp is designed to improve the skills necessary to compete in the game of soccer. More importantly, the coaches will instruct within a framework of character development based on respect, responsibility, integrity, leadership, and sportsmanship. Register online at www.challengersports.com.

Mini Soccer - 3-5 years | 8 a.m.-9 a.m. | $85

Half Day Camp - 6-9 years | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | $125

Half Day Camp - 10-14 years | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | $125

Summer Basketball Camp

Parks and Recreation is excited to host a Summer Basketball Camp for children ages 6-14 during the week of July 10th – July 14th at the Oakland Gymnasium! The camp will be in good hands as Haines City High School’s Head Basketball Coach Gregory Pritchett will lead the instruction! Registration is closed. See the attached flyer below for more information!

Youth Indoor Soccer

Halfway through the Youth Indoor Soccer Season and the competition is starting to heat up! Teams are beginning to fine-tune their soccer skills in preparation for the upcoming playoffs! Check out a few pictures of the athletes below!

Please review the Public Notice about Haines City Cemeteries provided in English and in Español in the attached documents below.

Emerging Youth Advisory Council Highlight

The Emerging Youth Advisory Council exists to provide opportunities for youth to increase their knowledge of civic education through practical, hands-on experience. The group plays an active role in the community through engaging with City departments, community organizations, and local events. These experiences shed light on procedures, issues, and community relations for the youth to gain insights from and give constructive feedback to positively invest into their community.

During the summer months, the Emerging Youth Advisory Council (EYAC) is touring all of the municipal departments. June 23, 2017, the EYAC were delighted to experience a “behind the scenes” tour of the Haines City Police Department and Haines City Fire Department. The group, along with adult volunteers, had unique and memorable experiences with both departments! Make sure to read and see more about these experiences in the Fire Department and Police Department's sections!

If you are a student or know a student in the 8th grade or above and are interested in joining the Emerging Youth Advisory Council, simply complete an Advisory Board Application and send it to the City Clerk’s Office located at The City Hall, at 620 East Main Street, Haines City, FL 33844. The City of Haines City values the voices of the next generation and wants you to invest in the present and future of your community! We look forward to speaking with you about the possible opportunity for you to gain exponential experience and knowledge by being part of the EYAC. The next adventure the EYAC will take will be a behind-the-scenes tour of the Utilities Department (Water and Wastewater) and Public Works Department in July. Please call City Clerk Linda Bourgeois at (863) 421-9921 for additional information.

Through the effort of the City, the Haines City Economic Development Council, and its CEO, Cindy Jantomaso, ALDI Inc. filed plans with the City of Haines City for a 201,227 sq. ft. warehouse expansion. This will be the first of two major expansions planned for ALDI’s Regional Distribution Center in Haines City.

According to Brian McGee, National Warehouse Coordinator, ALDI Inc. Saxonburg Division, “We [ALDI Inc.] will create 100 new jobs over three years after the remodel is complete. Of those, 30 will meet the county guidelines for full-time over the 115% county average. The rest will average 35 hours a week, some will be over the average, some below based on requested time off, etc. and will pay an average of $32,000 a year with full benefits available; Medical, Dental and Vision, along with a 401k that has up to a 5% match. Our target completion date is December 1st, 2018.”

Fire Department

Fire Chief Stuart McCutcheon

The Emerging Youth Advisory Council Visits the Haines City Fire Department!

The EYAC visited the Fire Department where they learned about the renovated 1923 LeFrance Fire Engine! The group met Ember, the Fire Department’s mascot, went on a behind-the-scenes tour, and experienced the department’s new, grand ladder truck! A special thanks to Chief Stuart McCutcheon and Captain Ryan Russell for giving the EYAC an opportunity to learn about the great Haines City Fire Department! Check out a few pictures from the visit below!

Haines City Summer Recreation Campers from both camp locations visited the Haines City Fire Department for a fun and educational time! The camp was given a tour which included a walkthrough of the station, demonstrations of the equipment, and a discussion on fire prevention! Thanks to Chief Stuart McCutcheon for making this visit memorable and possible for our great summer campers! Check out a photo below of the group with members from the Haines City Fire Department!

Pictured above are the Haines City Summer Recreation Campers, Staff, and Leaders In Training with the Haines City Fire Department!

Alert Polk “A category four hurricane is threatening the Florida peninsula.” “A tornado is headed for Mulberry.” “A lift station leak is spreading raw sewage onto South Florida Avenue.” “Armed criminals are loose in a Winter Haven neighborhood that includes an elementary school.”

Before, people were solely reliant on learning about emergencies like these through the media. Today, you can get immediate notifications on your smartphone, tablet, home phone, email, text message, and social media thanks to a new system that Polk County officials are now using: Alert Polk. Alert Polk will be part of Alert Florida, the State of Florida’s critical communications system shared with most public safety operations across the state. During situations that may affect the health, safety and welfare of Polk County residents, designated officials will send out messages to telephone numbers and email addresses within the affected geographic area.

Emergency, and/or public safety notifications include:

Tornadoes/severe weather

Mandatory evacuations

Boil water orders

Gas leaks

Sexual predator relocation notices

Critical law enforcement notices

Hurricanes and hurricane recovery information

Time-critical notifications will be sent directly to your home phone, cell phone, or email address. When you register to receive notifications, please be aware that phone carrier charges may apply for all alert messages and data. You will only receive alerts that affect the address(es) you register. You do not have to live in Polk County to register. You may register additional locations such as where you work, your child’s school, your vacation/winter home or any location in Polk County.

February 1, 2017, Polk County discontinued using Code Red as their notification vendor. If you are still registered with Code Red, you will need to re-register for Alert Polk at www.alertpolk.com or through the county’s website at www.polk-county.net. Click on the Alert Polk button in the top right corner of the county’s website’s home page to go to the Polk Alert registration page.

Alert Polk is a free service. Polk County government will never sell or provide your information to a third party. Information collected will only be used for the Alert Polk system. For more information, go to www.polk-county.net/EM or call the Emergency Management Division at (863) 298-7000.

Human Resources

Director of Human Resources Donna Parker

Below is a listing of positions open to receive applications. All interested applicants are required to submit an employment application, unless otherwise instructed on the City's website position announcement page.

Employment Applications and copies of complete position announcements are located on the City of Haines City's website atwww.hainescity.com. (When completing the on-line application please save it to your computer and attach it via an e-mail to jobs@hainescity.com.)

The list below does not contain complete position announcements, and may have one or more vacancies available. To see the entire position announcements, please visitwww.hainescity.comemployment opportunities and click on the position title. Positions are considered "Open Until Filled," unless otherwise denoted. Corresponding pay grade ranges are included to represent earning potential and shall not be an assumption of potential starting wage, which will most likely be at the minimum rate of pay. If a conditional offer of employment is made, please note everything included during the application process will be verified.

The HR Connection is an informative monthly newsletter designed to keep employees informed on hot HR topics, follow-up items, and welcoming new employees to the City of Haines City Team. Check out theJuly 2017 Newsletter!

The City of Haines City Information Technology (I.T.) staff is proud to announce improvements to the audio and video systems throughout the organization. These improvements provide quality of life enhancements to City citizens and visitors.

I.T. staff worked with The Integration Factory who installed the original system to install a handheld wireless microphone in the Commission Chambers. This microphone is available for those citizens attending public meetings who do not have the ability to stand at the podium to address commission members or other presiding officials at the dais.

In addition to the wireless microphone, The Integration Factory, with the assistance of Haines City’s Facilities Maintenance Staff, installed a second projector and screen in the Commission Chambers for the audience. This provides the audience easier readability of information being presented during public meetings.

November 3rd, 2016, the City of Haines City opened RFP #161001 seeking services for improving the customer experience throughout the Lake Eva Park complex by upgrading and installing audio/video systems. The multi-year plan includes adding audio throughout the Lake Eva Park for the City’s outdoor events including synchronized control rooms in two locations along with eight outdoor speaker zones. Additionally, the plan calls for upgrading the Event Center Audio/Visual equipment to an easier to use and more reliable system and adding both teleconferencing capabilities and digital signage to the Lake Eva Event Center. The City awarded the bid to BCI Integrated Solutions.

BCI began upgrading the A/V system at the Lake Eva Event Center in May of 2017. The new A/V system includes touch panels in each of the three rooms. These touch panels control audio and video inputs as well as the lighting in each room. The Lake Eva Event Center staff is now able to use the A/V system more efficiently during scheduled events.

The Lake Eva Park Stage upgrade includes the installation of four speakers, a touch panel, XLR inputs, and an A/V rack to house the components of the stage. This stage upgrade provides a professional audio system for all stage events. The new stage speakers ensure everyone on the Great Lawn clearly hears the stage performance.

Additionally, staff and BCI are working this summer to install speakers around Lake Eva Park. These additional speakers provide audio coverage for stage events from the 3rd Street parking lot to both playgrounds and along the beachfront to the dock. Future phases of this project will expand the speaker system from the parking lot on Ledwith Avenue all the way to the Event Center. In addition to broadcasting events from the stage, this system allows the City to play music in the park as background music or for other events such as Glitter, Glisten, and Snow.

To provide significant cost savings to this project, City departments are working together and completing aspects of the project instead of outsourcing the work. Parks and Facilities Staff are digging the trenches and laying the conduit. This results in an estimated cost savings for the City of $30,000.

Check out a few pictures below of the new speaker installations at the Lake Eva Park stage!

A huge thanks to the Haines City I.T. Department for all of the behind the scenes work to help provide quality of life enhancements to citizens and visitors of Haines City!

Parks

Parks & Recreation Director Auburn Taylor

In the coming months the Parks Department will continue several improvement projects around the city as well as begin several others. Check out some of the projects below:

Landscaping removal, renovations and improvements on U.S. Highway 27 began May 1, 2017.

Oakland Cemetery South has new fencing and new trash receptacles installed. Oakland Cemetery North will also be receiving new trash receptacles as well as sitting benches, granite block markers and shade structures.

Benches and trash receptacles will also be added to the Haines City Trail corridor from Grace Avenue to Lilly Avenue.

The Cook Field baseball diamond has been converted from a football practice field back into a usable baseball/softball diamond.

Police Department

Police Chief Gary Hester

The Emerging Youth Advisory Council Visits the Haines City Police Department!

At the Police Department, the EYAC viewed the Evidence Room and learned how fingerprints and other materials are processed as evidence of crimes. The group even witnessed the K-9 Unit (Fenix) in action as the K-9 officers demonstrated seaching and finding displaced articles! The EYAC also observed the Interrogation Room, visited with detectives and the police chief for a question and answer session, and learned about the internal operations of the department. A special thanks to Police Chief Gary Hester and Captain Keva Harris for making this valuable time with the EYAC and Haines City Police Department possible! Check out a few pictures below of the engaging visit!

Under the leadership of Police Chief Hester, coupled with the assistance of Code Compliance, the Haines City Police Department began a clean-up of the city June 12th, utilizing Polk County Sheriff’s Office probationers, typically consisting of five individuals. June 25th, HCPD coordinated a large scale clean-up consisting of approximately 100 Polk County Sheriff’s Office Work Release Inmates. Areas worked includes Oakland, Highway 27, Bates Road, Lee Jackson Highway and other sections of our city. To date, 54,180 pounds have been removed. Moreover, 90 tires have been removed from various locations.

Together We're Better!

The morning of July 4th, HCPD’s Criminal Investigations Division investigated an armed home invasion on Norma Avenue. Due to the outstanding work conducted by HCPD’s Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations Division, and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect was apprehended. Below are details from the incident.

The Haines City Police Department investigated a Home Invasion Robbery the morning of July 4th, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Norma Avenue.

The male suspect forced the front door of the residence open while two victims were sleeping inside. Upon entry the suspect, armed with a rifle, threatened an adult female, demanding cash. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male, with tattoos on his neck.

The suspect ransacked the house and located a nine millimeter handgun. He stole the handgun and fled the scene on foot. The victims were emotionally stressed; however, they were not physically harmed.

Detectives quickly entered the victim’s handgun in the State and Nationwide system (FCIC/NCIC) as stolen. Additionally, a BOLO (Be-on-the-Look-Out) was initiated to surrounding agencies.

An Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sheriff observed a vehicle driving erratically on road 192 in Kissimmee and subsequently conducted a traffic stop.

The driver matched the description of the home invasion suspect and was identified as Rafael Angel Morales, DOB 08/12/1977, from Miami, Florida. He was subsequently arrested by Osceola County Sheriff’s Office for carrying a concealed firearm by a convicted felon, failing to register a current address, grand theft of a firearm, and DWLSR (Driving while license suspended/revoked). Additionally, HCPD Criminal Investigations obtained a warrant for Morales regarding the Home Invasion – authorized to have no bond.

“As a result of the victim knowing the serial number to the stolen firearm, coupled with the outstanding work conducted by our Criminal Investigations Division and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sheriff conducting proactive patrol, the suspect was quickly apprehended, providing a sense of relief to the victim” said Deputy Chief James R. Elensky.

Thanks to the Haines City Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, and all other service organizations for serving our communities so well!

Haines City Public Library

Parks & Recreation Director Auburn Taylor

In addition to the multitude of books the Haines City Public Library provides, it also offers age-specific opportunities of adventure with programs like the Needlework Group, Scrabble Club, Story Times, Teen Programs, and movies every month in English and Español. Come find your heartbeat at the Haines City Public Library!

Adults

Adults Activities UpdateTuesday, July 11th, Adult Activities for July 2017 include a special after-hours showing of The Zookeeper's Wife at 6:30 p.m. Snacks and drinks are permitted but not provided. Check out the Library Calendar to see more of our regular Adult Activities which continue throughout the summer.

Around the Shelves in 80 days Join the Haines City Public Library as they travel around the globe! The program is open to all adults ages 18 and above with a valid Polk County Library Card. Read a book and receive a stamp. Each fully completed passport will be awarded a prize. For more information see the Haines City Public Library circulation desk and check out the Around the Shelves in 80 Days
flyer and
Passport!

Family Movie

The Haines City Public Library will have a double feature of Mulan (1998), Monday, July 10th, at 2:30 p.m, and Mulan II at 4:15 p.m. Lego Batman will be shown, Saturday, July 8th, at 10:30 a.m. Lego Batman will be shown in Spanish, Saturday, July 15th, at 10:30 a.m. All movies will be shown in the Community Room with snacks and drinks provided! Make sure to stay up to date with the Library Calendar located below to join us for the Family Movie Event!

Legion of Geeks

Join the Haines City Public Library for a night of geeking out and comic book reading! This stellar event is held the second Tuesday of every month. The next Legion of Geeks is Tuesday, July 11th, from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Stay updated by downloading your own Library Calendars (attached below).

Literati Book Club | The Skinwalkers by Tony HillermanThe Literati Book Club meets monthly in the Librarian’s office to discuss the selected book. Reserve your copy at the front desk today! The next meeting is Thursday, July 20th, at 2:00 p.m. Drop by the library for more information!

NeedleworkJoin the Haines City Public Library every Monday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in the Community Room for the Needlework Group! Share ideas, laughs, and pointers with friends while you work on your projects.

Pigments of Your Imagination Bring out your imagination and relieve some stress in our weekly adult coloring club! Supplies are provided. This is held every Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Community Room.

Scrabble ClubPut on your thinking caps and pull out your dictionaries for the Haines City Public Library's weekly Scrabble Club. This event is held every Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and is located in the Young Adult Room.

Children and Young Adults

Family Movie Mondays The Haines City Public Library will show children’s movies Monday afternoons, at 2:30 p.m. in the Community Room. Snacks and drinks are permitted but not provided. The movies for July are the following: July 10th - Mulan at 2:30 p.m. and Mulan II at 4:15 p.m.; July 17th - Zootopia at 2:30 p.m.; July 24th - Finding Dory at 2:30 p.m.

Family Movie Saturday

The Haines City Public Library swill show Lego Batman, Saturday, July 8th, at 10:30 a.m. The film will also be shown in Spanish, Saturday, July 15th at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room. Snacks and drinks are permitted but not provided. Make sure to stay up to date with the Library Calendar to join us next month for the Family Movie Event!

Harry Potter Birthday Party

Join the Haines City Public Library to celebrate Harry Potter's Birthday! All ages are welcome. Festivities are scheduled Monday, July 31st, from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in the Community Room. Snacks will be served and costumes are encouraged!

Kids Game Night

The July Kids Game Nights will be held Thursday, July 6th and 20th, from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.! Families with kids ages 12 and under can play the Wii, different board games, and much more in the Community Room! Join us from 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. for a fun time!

Legion of Geeks

Join the Haines City Public Library next time for a night of geeking out and comic book reading. This stellar event is held the second Tuesday of every month. The next Legion of Geeks is Tuesday, July 11th, from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Stay updated by downloading your own Library Calendars (attached below).

LEGO® Bricks Club Thursday, July 13th and 27th, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., kids of all ages are invited to come and let their imaginations soar with LEGO® Building Bricks! This program is located in the Community Room. Stay updated with the Library Calendars (attached below)!

Minecraft The Children’s Department will be incredibly busy with fun this summer! Minecraft is at the Library in the Community Room every Wednesday afternoon from 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. This event will be held until August 2nd. Bring your own laptop or use one of our computers to play!

Teen Advisory Board (TAB)Join the Haines City Public Library's TAB group Monday, July 17th, at 4:30 p.m., to help make programs for teens better and better. Your voice is important! This is for students in grades 6th – 12th and is located in the Young Adult Room.

Teen Movie Fridays The teen movies are held Friday afternoons in the Community Room. The movies for July are: July 7th - Power Rangers (PG-13); July 14th - Before I Fall (PG-13); July 21st - The Force Awakens (PG-13). Snacks and drinks are permitted but not provided. Bring some friends with you and come enjoy some sweet films!

Special Events*

In July, the Special Events to be hosted Tuesdays at the
Lake Eva Community Center will be: Miz Daisys - July 11th at 10:30 a.m.; Giving Tree - July 18th at 10:30 a.m; and Showtime for Kids - July 25th at 10:30 a.m. These events are brought to the community by the Friends of the Haines City Public Library.

Teen Summer CraftsAttention Middle School and High School students! Join the Haines City Public Library Tuesday July 11th, 18th, and 25th, from 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. to make some awesome crafts! This creative time is hosted in the Young Adult Room. Stay updated with the Library Calendars (attached below) so you don't miss all the fun this month!

Tween Book Club | Summer Reading ChallengeMonday, July 17th, at 3:30 p.m., join a cool book discussion in the Young Adult Room for ages 10 – 18. Please bring a book you read for the summer reading challenge to share with the group!

Stay Connected With All Our Upcoming Events!

Want to know what is going on at the Haines City Public Library? Check out our Facebook page and get the scoop. You can also see what's going on at the Library by viewing our calendar for adults and children!

Check back in the next City Manager's Report to see the latest updates in the Public Works Department!

Recreation

Parks & Recreation Director Auburn Taylor

Aquatics

The Haines City Aquatics Center is open seven days a week from 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Admission into the Aquatics Center is $5.00 per person for ages one and older.

Pool Safety – Have a Blast & Play Safe

No denim shorts or pants and No shorts with buttons or zippers. Proper swim wear required.

No coolers or outside food or drink will be permitted. There is a concession stand on-site.

No diapers allowed in pools. Children that wear diapers must wear a swim diaper (i.e. Huggies Little Swimmers). Swim Diapers may be purchased for $3.00 each.

No flotation devices (i.e. water wings, inflatable floats and life vests, and life vests with clips or buckles). Only life vests with zippers are allowed.

World’s Largest Swim Lesson

Thursday, June 22nd, the Haines City Aquatics Center partnered with the World Waterpark Association for their annual World’s Largest Swim Lesson™. This event was created in 2010 by the World Waterpark Association to serve as a platform to help local community aquatic facilities and the many different national, regional, statewide water safety, and drowning prevention organizations work together to tell this important story on a local and national level.

For our first year, we partnered with the Academy of Martial Arts - Kissimmee to bring their camp for the free 30 minute lesson. Next year, we look forward to a bigger and better event! Thank you, Academy of Martial Arts – Kissimmee, for joining the Haines City Aquatics Center Team for the fun program! Check out a picture of the attendees below!

Cultural Arts

Ceramics

We welcome you to join the self-guided, ongoing ceramics class. First, choose your piece to be poured into a mold and fired. Then, once it is finished you will get to paint it! This class is held Tuesdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and is $2.00 per class, in addition to the fee of your canvas and the one time yearly Parks & Recreation fee of $10.00. You must be 18 years or older to join. Check out the Ceramics flyer below!

Heidi's Academy of the Performing Arts

The Oakland Neighborhood Center is the new home for Heidi's Academy of the Performing Arts! Age eligibility is from three years and older. There is still time to register your child for this new and exciting program! Classes will be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in the Oakland Auditorium! Check out the attached flyer and Instructor Heidi's biography below!

Oil Painting

Have you ever had an inkling to put a brush with paint on it to paper...to create something wonderful? We want you to join us to learn techniques in fine art traditional oils and have fun with our instructors Peggy Curry and Nick Roberts. Classes are held Mondays from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. It is $20.00 per class, in addition to the one time, yearly Parks & Recreation fee of $10.00. Please call (863) 289-4057 for the next available class. Check to see the Oil Painting flyer below!

Summer Camp

Half way through the summer and campers have participated in very exciting activities! These activities include field trips, guest speakers, crafts, and more!

Visit from Shannon Orthodontics Thank you to Chris and Carol Shannon from Shannon Orthodontics for coming out and speaking to the campers about dental hygiene! The campers loved their awesome experiments and of course the goody bags!

Visit to the Haines City Fire Station Thank you to the Haines City Fire Department for an awesome tour through the facility! The campers, LIT’s, and staff had a great time! The fan favorite is always sweet Ember! An extra special high-five to Captain Ryan Russell for taking Ms. Lindsaia and Mr. Sean up on the ladder truck! What an awesome experience it was to see what the City of Haines City’s everyday heroes get to do! Haines City Fire Department - you guys ROCK!

Visit to the Central Florida Zoo The Haines City Summer Recreation Camp attended the Central Florida Zoo June 21st. The trip was a blast! Campers got to see different types of animals, feed the goats and llamas, and play at the playground!

Check below for pictures from the awesome guest speaker session and field trips!

Wellness

Karate

Join Sensi Harry Vidal for Okinawa Shorin Ryu Karate! In this epic class, he teaches children positive attitudes, self-discipline, goals, and self-defense skills! The class is held at the Lake Eva Community Center Monday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. for children ages 5-16. Check out the flyer below for more information!

Zumba®The Lake Eva Community Center's Zumba® Fitness Instructor Janet Gomez just celebrated her 9th year of instructing this fun and calorie-burning exercise class! Congrats Janet! Her classes recently came together and held one big celebration at the Lake Eva Community Center. Make sure to come out to this fun way to stay healthy!

Zumba® Fitness - Zumba® Fitness is held Thursday nights from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Zumba® takes the "work" out of the workout by mixing low-intensity and high-intensity moves for an interval-style, calorie-burning dance fitness party. Wear comfortable clothes and come ready to have fun! Check out the Zumba® Fitness flyer below!

Zumba® Toning - Zumba® toning is held weekly Tuesday nights from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. If you love Zumba® and are ready to challenge yourself more, then this class is for you! This class takes the moves that you already learned from Zumba® Fitness and mixes in light, handheld weights to help you tone up those muscles!

Aqua Zumba® - Aqua Zumba®This class is held at the Haines City Aquatic Center, located at Lake Eva Park, Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. This program is perfect for those looking to make a splash by adding a low-impact, high-energy aquatic exercise to their fitness routine! There is less impact on your joints during an Aqua Zumba® class, so you can let loose in a fun, joint-friendly way. Water creates natural resistance, which means every step is more challenging and helps tone your muscles! Check out the Aqua Zumba® flyer below!

Occasionally drivers have accidents which damage City property. In this case (see the picture to the left), at the corner of 10th Street and State Road 544, a fire hydrant was hit and knocked over. Unlike a scene in a Hollywood film, after a fire hydrant is hit, it is unlikely to see it spraying a fountain of water into the air. Actually, most fire hydrants are designed to shut off when they are hit.

Haines City Team Members like Ellis Crews, a Pipeline Technician in the Utility Maintenance Division, and many others in the division, have the valuable knowledge and training to safely repair these types of incidents! We are so thankful for Haines City Team Members like these who play their part in stewarding Haines City property well!

Lift Station Fixes!

A lift station without power can cause numerous problems and lead to wastewater backups for customers. The Utilities Department takes pride in quickly resolving these types of issues. Whenever lift stations are not receiving the right voltage from the main breaker, our Meter Technician, Thomas Pennington, connects the generator to the emergency panel (see the picture to the right). The generator provides the necessary power to operate the pumps so wastewater will not back up into our customers’ homes. Way to go Haines City Team Member Thomas Pennington and many others who continue to steward Haines City property well!

Water Restrictions Update!

Please review the attached document below to find out how the Haines City community can comply with Southwest Florida Water Management District in making the most out of the water usage in our area. These new restrictions were put into action Monday, June 5th.

Also, click here for more information from the Southwest Florida Water Management District website!

The City of Haines City would like to thank all of our excellent, dedicated employees and volunteers who help make the City a great place to work, live and play. We would not be able to serve our community well without the dedicated, excellent employees and volunteers! Have you "Watched Outstanding Work" within the City lately? Let us know at wow@hainescity.com.

Welcome Aboard!

Haines City Family,

Check in the next City Manager's Report to see who we're welcoming to the City of Haines City Team!

City Commission

Mayor Roy Tyler

City Commission meetings are regularly scheduled every first and third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m., and are held in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 620 E. Main Street.